Saturday 31st March 2012

I’ve spent the previous 2 weekends running on flat ground for a change – a 20 mile official event on the BBC1 Top Gear track and a marathon distance on my local canal towpath where I bagged a PB for that distance (3:34) so today I was back in the hills for some serious hilly trail running again.

The first 5 miles I ran solo (including a run up St Martha’s Hill) until I was joined by my friend Dan on his MTB at Newlands Corner. I was looking forward to the company plus the humorous chat & banter we always have but personally I don’t think I could ride a with someone who is running for 5-6 hours so I have to give him max credit for sticking with me on this day.

The route took us along the North Downs Way long distance path towards Dorking but before we descended into the valley towards the Surrey Hills I decided to take a slight detour from my original planned route. A few weeks ago I found some stairs by chance that are perfect for TNF100 training so on mile 13 I decided to go and check them out and run up & down them a few times. Stairs are tough work and I’ve been told there are at least 800 to deal with during one part of the course on race day so this was just a teaser…..

So after playing around with the stairs I headed off towards the top of Leith Hill, a climb that starts hard at first but then is a gentle run up to the top on sand with amazing views towards Gatwick Airport and the South Downs. When I got to the top of Leith Hill I was incredibly hungry and noticed the cafe under the tower was selling cheese sandwiches. I’m a sucker for real food on a long run so I took a temporary b-line and headed for the cheese which my friend found hilarious. My stomach felt full and I was content so I carried along the path towards Holmbury, Peaslake, up Pitch Hill and then back to the start point which included a final ascent of St Martha’s Hill.